Railcars releasably joined together with couplers are typically equipped with uncoupling levers that allow cars to be separated. Uncoupling levers actuate an uncoupling mechanism contained within the coupler. Since the coupler and uncoupling mechanism are located at the center of a railcar, uncoupling levers typically provide a handle near a corner of a railcar so a user does not have to place himself between railcars to uncouple them. Uncoupling levers are typically pivotally connected near a corner of a railcar. Often a railcar will have multiple uncoupling levers. To operate the uncoupling mechanism, the user will pull the handle on the uncoupling lever away from the railcar, pivot the entire uncoupling lever, thereby actuating the uncoupling mechanism in the coupler to release the coupler.
Some railcars require that their uncoupling levers be restrained by a spring. This is typically done on railcars that are inverted to be dumped, such as rotary dump coal cars. Rotary dump coal cars are held down to a section of track and then the section of track is rotated about an axis parallel to the axis of the track to invert the entire railcar and dump the contents of the railcar. While a rotary dump car is inverted, the levers could move causing the car to be uncoupled. Springs between the uncoupling lever and the railcar restrain such motion. A common practice of attaching the spring to the railcar and uncoupling lever is to use a cold shut put through a hole. Cold shut is a non reusable wire part similar to a link of chain inserted into a hole, bent shut and tack welded so an eye of a spring is captured within the cold shut. Workers may be injured when pliers used to bend cold shuts slip and hit their hands. Using cold shuts also takes time that could be saved if springs could be placed without using cold shuts.